The benefit of the routine application of aspiration thrombectomy in primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) is now well established. The optimal management of patients who have 'failed' thrombectomy, characterized by a large residual thrombus burden after repeated mechanical thrombectomy, however, is not known. We report a case of failed aspiration thrombectomy in a 55-year-old man who was admitted to our institution with chest pain non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction due to a huge nonocclusive thrombus in an aneurysmatic segment of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Aspiration thrombectomy did little to reduce thrombus load and so the patient was treated with unfractioned heparin infusion and warfarin. Repeat coronary angiography at 7 days revealed complete thrombus resolution with thrombolysis in myocardial infarction grade 3 anterograde flow.This case demonstrates the potential for appropriate anticoagulation therapy as a treatment option for the management of patients following failed thrombectomy in PPCI.